Sony vies for Jackson footage
Over the weekend, Sony Pictures emerged as the front-runner in a frenzied bidding war to acquire Hollywood’s hottest entertainment property: film rights to footage from Michael Jackson’s rehearsals for his “This Is It” comeback concert series.
According to sources close to the negotiations -- who declined to be identified because they are not authorized to publicly discuss the matter -- AEG Live, the concert promoter behind the superstar’s planned 50-date performance residency at London’s O2 Arena, offered the rights to some 1,200 hours of rehearsal footage to all of the major movie studios last week. Sony, Fox, Paramount and Universal all submitted bids.
Although Fox and Universal have bids under consideration, Sony’s aggressive $50-million offer -- coupled with the fact that the global entertainment giant’s music division controls distribution of Jackson’s output as an adult solo performer and retains the right to block a competing studio from using his songs -- put the studio in the strongest position, a source said Sunday.
Sony also controls “sync” rights to most of Jackson’s songs; such rights are involved whenever recorded music is used in combination with visual images in a production, an important component in the property’s future DVD release. The plan is for a movie to be theatrically released in October.
AEG is also selling the broadcast rights for a prime-time TV special using staging and choreography Jackson created for his “This Is It” concerts. That property prompted fevered competition among networks over the weekend.
According to a person with knowledge of the deal, the special would be broadcast in September and would be directed by Kenny Ortega, the choreographer-director responsible for such hits as “High School Musical” who worked with Jackson as director of his “This Is It” performances. It is described as featuring a superstar ensemble that might include Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and will.i.am performing Jackson’s hits using the costuming, choreography, aerial ballet and special effects-driven illusions engineered for the singer’s comeback, a source said.
Although it’s been reported that NBC is the front-runner in bidding for the TV special, the network declined comment and denied rumors of a deal. However, sources close to NBC say it is in negotiations to air the special.
Contrary to some rumors, Fox is out of the running. Sources with knowledge of the negotiations say it did not bid for the TV special because executives felt it would be too similar to the proposed movie.
An announcement about both the TV and film projects is expected today, a person with knowledge of the deal said. Calls to an AEG spokesman were not returned. A Sony spokesman and a Universal spokeswoman declined to comment. Representatives for Fox did not respond to inquiries seeking comment Sunday.
Since Jackson’s death June 25, speculation has raged about the content and quality of the rehearsal tapes. According to a source, hundreds of hours of high-definition video footage were shot during full dress rehearsals a week before Jackson went into cardiac arrest.
The performer is shown to be in apparently fine health, making jokes, singing and dancing with vivacity and weighing in on creative decisions surrounding the production, a source said. Also included are two or three scenes shot in 3-D during the concert’s most high-concept set pieces.
It was not immediately clear who would produce or direct the movie.
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Times staff writers Claudia Eller, Maria Elena Fernandez and Meg James contributed to this report.
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